The Suffolk man known only as "Mike", has been relocated to protect his family. He reported the loan shark to the national Illegal Money Lending Team and gave evidence against him after the lender threatened his wife and children.

Mike was just 20 when he bought a car for £250 from a friend of the family. But the friend turned out to be an illegal money lender, and over the next 17 years Mike paid back an estimated £90,000 pounds, suffered a heart attack because of the stress and tried to take his own life. He lost his house, his job and very nearly his family. The illegal money lender even attacked him in front of his children.

Mike started by paying back £30 a week, but the loan shark soon demanded ever increasing payments. "After a couple of weeks it went up to £50, £60, £70. I was using money to pay him instead buying food, gas, electric or paying the rent." he said.

Mike added that he had to borrow more from the loan shark to keep up with the payments. "He was chucking interest on top and if you couldn't pay him one week, he would double what you owed him. It just spiralled out of control."

Whenever Mike asked the loan shark how much he owed, he was told £9,000, regardless of how much he was paying back. "He started to give threats, saying if we didn't pay him he'd hit us or take things out of the house, which he did do. He took the kids' PlayStation consoles, the car. There was one occasion when I was ill on the settee and he just laid into me in front of the kids.

"I thought about going to the police but I was worried about the consequences because we were living on the same estate."

The pattern of friendliness leading to a casual loan with no paperwork, followed by increases to the loan, scant information about what is owed or being charged and intimidation is classic behaviour for a loan shark according to the government's Stop Loan Sharks campaign

Mike was doing two jobs to keep his wife and three children going and to meet the demands of the loan shark. "I was working in the warehouse at Asda at night then going to the local primary school to work as a teacher's assistant in the day. I was getting a couple of hours sleep a day and living on Mars bars for energy."

But payments had risen to £200 a week and Mike could no longer pay the mortgage. His family lost their home. "I tried to hang myself in the loft but was stopped so I went to the park to kill myself there and would have gone ahead with it but for the police," he said.

Mike left home but returned on Fridays to visit his children. One afternoon the loan shark was waiting outside for him. "He said if you don't pay up I'm coming for your wife and kids. That was the final straw."

He had read an article in his local paper about a loan shark in Ipswich being prosecuted and jailed, so contacted the Illegal Money Lending Team, a scheme funded by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills which works in partnership with local trading standards offices.

His action resulted in the loan shark going to prison for eight months for illegal money lending and money-laundering. Mike said eight months does not seem long given the misery he and his family suffered for 17 years. "It was a living hell," he said, and even after the loan shark was jailed, his family continued to receive threats via Facebook.

On Tuesday, Mike was awarded a Trading Standards Institute Hero award at the TSI conference in Manchester – an annual scheme that celebrates outstanding local contributions to consumer protection and the protection of individuals.

Tony Quigley, head of the England Illegal Money Lending Team, said: "It took all of Mike's courage for him to come forward and report the lender. This was a massive help to the England Illegal Money Lending Team. "Mike has done everything he can to warn other people about the perils of borrowing from illegal money lenders."

But the biggest reward for Mike is that he and his family are now back together. "We haven't argued for two and a half years now – not since he went to prison."

He warns that there are many people who are still desperate enough to borrow from an illegal lender. "People usually go to loan sharks because they have a bad credit record: nine times out of 10 the high street banks will say no. But in that situation you should get help from a credit union. I borrowed £360 to get my car windows mended, and the loan was repaid in 20 weeks with no pressure."

Anyone who is already trapped should seek help from trading standards as "it only takes one person coming forward to get a loan shark off the streets".

Mike has now built up savings and last week went into his bank to withdraw £1,000. "We bought a dishwasher, tumble dryer, washing machine and cooker – with cash. It felt very good. That's the difference being free from a loan shark makes."